


The Apple of Their Eyes

by kou_hi



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Might be OOC, no beta we die like men, sleep on your beds not first years, there's not enough appreciation for epel/first years so i had to cook my own food
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25418041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kou_hi/pseuds/kou_hi
Summary: “An apple tree is just like a person. In order to thrive, it needs companionship that's similar to it in some ways, but quite different than others.”OrA short collection of Epel and his first year companions
Relationships: Epel Felmier/Ace Trappola, Epel Felmier/Deuce Spade, Epel Felmier/Jack Howl, Epel Felmier/Sebek Zigvolt
Comments: 5
Kudos: 77





	The Apple of Their Eyes

“Let go of me!” Epel protests as two Pomefiore students hold him down by his wrists. His heart sinks as he prepares for a fate possibly worse than being scolded by Professor Crewel in alchemy class. Oh, how he regretted  _ so much  _ letting it slip that he was going to meet Deuce at Main Street today. It started as a “good morning” from Rook, then turned into light conversation, then led to this dreadful moment. Of course, he could never count on Rook to keep something like this to himself. 

“Silence, potato!” Vil barks, his violet eyes narrowing into slits. He scans Epel up and down, tutting in disapproval in Epel’s outfit of the day. “You expect me to let you meet someone dressed like  _ this _ ? I will not stand for having Pomefiore’s name tarnished by the likes of you!” 

“B-but-!” 

Vil claps his hands, and a storm of Pomefiore students armed with makeup, chic clothes, and accessories surround Epel like a pack of wolves. 

And Epel could only do nothing but swallow in fear. 

  
  
  


“Much better.” Vil nods in approval. 

“ _ Tres bien,  _ Epel!” Rook tips his hat and winks (Epel shudders). “You look  _ magnifique _ !” 

Epel gawks at his newfound appearance with a mix of shock and possibly horror. His tousled hair is now curled, with one side pinned back neatly with barrettes. A loose, slightly oversized sweater now replaced the T-shirt he had planned on wearing, and a soft, blue chiffon scarf draped over his shoulders (“It’s not even cold outside!”). A pair of jeans too tight for his comfort and trainers finished the look. 

“I-” He sputters.

“You look great, dear, now hurry along before you keep your friend waiting too long!” Vil waves a perfectly manicured hand. “Oh, and…” His eyes stare straight into Epel’s menacingly. “I  _ will  _ know if you do not uphold your manners in public.” 

Epel shrinks back as he treks out of the Pomefiore lounge in defeat.

  
  
  


When Epel finally reaches the centre of Main Street, he already feels the barrettes clipped onto his hair loosening and the back of the sweater drenched in his sweat.  _ Why did they make me wear a sweater when it’s darn nice out,  _ he thinks miserably to himself as he drags himself to the fountain. 

“Epel?” Deuce looks up from his phone in surprise, then rushes to Epel’s side in concern. “Are you okay? I didn’t mind waiting a bit longer but…” He takes in Epel’s dressed up figure and looks down at the plain T-shirt and jeans and the old, beat-up sneakers he decided to wear today. “Am I underdressed?” 

“N-no!” Epel’s face flushes a deep scarlet, too embarrassed to let Deuce see his dolled up face. And with all the running he just did, his makeup surely would be smudged and make him look even worse than he already perceived. “My… dormmates caught me and forced me into this.” 

Deuce reaches into his pocket and pulls out his handkerchief. “Here.” He offers the cloth to Epel, who takes it gratefully. Surely, it would be alright if he just wiped all the products off his face now? It’s not like Vil would be around to scold him. But Rook… Epel shivers at the thought of being caught by Rook’s far-reaching sight. Instead, he dabs at the sweat on his forehead before handing the handkerchief back to Deuce. 

“What are we doing today?” Epel decides to change the subject. No use in making Deuce worry any further than he already had been. “You said that there was something on Main Street I might be interested in?” 

Deuce’s eyes light up excitedly. “Yes! Cater- _ senpai  _ said there was a new shop opening today, and they sell really cool outfits! Remember when we talked about having a cool embroidery on our clothes? They have just that!” 

Epel jumps a little with enthusiasm, but quickly retains his composure and returns a more polite smile to Deuce. “Oh, of course! I’d love to go check- I mean, visit the shop with you!” 

  
  


The shop is at the end of the street, so they decide to check out other stores along the way. On such a Saturday, it is no surprise that other students of the college have decided to spend their weekend on the premises of Main Street. 

Deuce tilts his head towards a bakery not too far away. “Trey- _ senpai  _ told me their treats are pretty good. I think you mentioned once that you liked macarons?” 

“I do.” 

Of course, macarons are nice. Epel appreciates the crispness of the shell and how the meringue filling melts on his tongue. He also likes the variety of flavors that can be baked into the tasty confection. 

Epel sneaks a glance at a small grill restaurant on the other side of the street, where - of course - a horde of Savanaclaw students were gathered. He swears he could smell the mouthwatering aroma of the sizzling meat calling to him, and - 

“Epel?” 

“Huh?” Epel blinks, snapping out of his  _ yakiniku  _ fantasy. “Oh.” He coughs gently into his hand and then smiles reassuringly at Deuce. “I’d be down for- I mean, having some macarons would be lovely.” 

  
  


Deuce offers to pay for their macarons and lattes, to which Epel protests, eventually ending up with the two splitting their tab. They each pick out a few flavors each, and Epel feels his mouth watering at the rainbow tower of macarons growing bigger and bigger. 

They seat themselves outside, and a server brings out their lattes, which each have a small illustration beautifully drawn into the whipped cream. Deuce snaps a quick photo for MagiCam (“Guess I just picked it up from Cater- _ senpai _ ), and they briefly talk about their sports clubs. 

“You seem to be doing pretty well in the track club.” 

Deuce nods as he takes a sip of his latte. “I think we’re getting there. It’d still be nice to win some more meets, though. I hope we can get at least one win against Royal Swords before the season ends. I’m not as strong as Jack yet, but I’m training every day. How’s Magift holding up for you?” 

Epel cups his mug, staring into the steamy liquid. “I’ve been trying to stay more for extra practice. Ruggie- _ senpai’s  _ been helpful. And I think Leona- _ senpai _ ’s been acknowledging my improvement.” He smiles. “The Magift Club didn’t get off to a strong start this year, but I think we’re still getting better every day! We’re going to break our losing streak against Royal Swords, I just know it!” 

“That’s good to hear. I look forward to seeing you guys win some matches.”

“Y-you, too.” 

Epel glances at the tower of macarons begging to be eaten, and he reaches for the top macaron. 

“Ah~ So delicious.” Epel pops the whole macaron into his mouth, savoring the flavor - pistachio - running through every corner of his senses. But the moment does not last long when he suddenly freezes in fear, then guilt. His mind becomes a void, hearing nothing but Vil’s angry voice lecturing him about forgetting his manners again. 

_ “Stop folding your arms like that!”  _

_ “I told you to chew your food slower!”  _

_ “That sort of speech is unacceptable!”  _

_ “Oh, Epel, what are we going to do with you?” _

Tears prickle at Epel’s eyes, threatening to spill out like a burst dam. He swallows the macaron hard, then shakily reaches for another. 

“Are you okay, Epel?” Deuce’s eyes become clouded with concern. 

_ Shit, shit, shit _ . Epel forgets to control his language as he starts cursing in his head.  _ Damn you for making Deuce-kun worry like that. This is all your fault. You’re going to ruin everyth- _

The first trickle of tears roll down Epel’s cheeks. Then two. Then three. Epel chokes out a sob as he clenches his fists and hunches over, burying his face into his arms. 

“Epel!” Deuce’s hand is (awkwardly) rubbing his back, panic rising in his voice. “Please talk to me,” he pleads. “Did I do something wrong? Are you not having fun? Please, say something.” 

No response. 

Epel continues to let his flood run free, ignoring all the stares and whispers they were probably receiving from other people walking around on the street. But somehow, Deuce’s hand feels warm and comforting. No one has ever comforted him like this. It was always more and more yelling and teasing whenever he burst into tears in front of the likes of his dormmates.

“D-don’t,” he chokes out when he feels Deuce’s hand withdrawing. When Deuce’s touch returns, Epel settles into the temporary solace and continues pouring out all of the pent up emotions within him for the world to see. 

  
  


After a few minutes, Epel lets out one last sniff before finally mustering the courage to look into Deuce’s eyes. 

“I-I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” Deuce reaches into his pocket once more and wipes away the runny makeup and the tears away from Epel’s face. 

“I’ll clean it for you when we get back.”

“It’s fine.” 

Epel stares at the unfinished box of macarons silently. He just wanted to go back to his dorm and lock himself away for the rest of the school year. 

“Is. Is there something you wanted to talk about?” 

Now it is Deuce who was flushing a light shade of pink. He awkwardly rubs his hands together, probably thinking of the best way to comfort Epel. 

“Wh-why are you embarrassed!” Epel exclaims, causing Deuce to jump back in his chair. “I was the one who started cryin’ outta nowhere! I ruined our outing today!” 

“I- I’m not good with stuff like this!” 

The two of them shift in their chairs uncomfortably.

…

“You’re my classmate, Epel. A-and a friend.” Deuce is as red as Riddle when someone doesn’t feed the hedgehogs wearing pink. “I- I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything.”

Epel tries a soft chuckle. Thank goodness Deuce isn’t upset at him for suddenly crying like that. So he supposes it wouldn’t hurt to talk about it. 

He rants about how he wants to talk without controlling his dialect. How he wants to have a big helping of  _ yakiniku  _ every night. How he wants to just eat at his own peace. How he wishes people would stop treating him like a delicate flower. How he just wants to be  _ Epel Felmier _ , gosh darn it. 

When Epel finishes, he expects Deuce to be preparing to crawl away in fear of how he just sounded, dialect and all. 

But Deuce isn’t backing away in fear. Instead, he has his hands tented and is focused on him and him only. 

“Sorry for word vomiting all of that shit to you,” Epel says bluntly. “Frankly, I’d expect ya to be freaked out by now.” 

Deuce looks at him in surprise. “Why would I be? And I wouldn’t care if you spoke like that. I can make out most of it. I think.” 

Epel snorts (He’d  _ so  _ be in trouble if he did that in front of Vil). Then he starts laughing. Not nervously, but full on laughing. “You’re interesting, Deuce. And I’m glad I can say all of this without worrying what anyone else would say to me. Thank you. Really.” With this newfound confidence, in him, Epel reaches over and pops a lavender macaron into his mouth, chewing it without a single care. 

Deuce drums his fingertips against the table as he looks up at the clear, blue sky. “Honestly, I kind of understand what it’s like sometimes. You know, I used to be a different person in middle school. I fought a lot, picked a fight wherever I went. I’d make trouble if there wasn’t anything to do.” 

“You were a delinquent?” Epel’s eyes widen. 

“But I stopped because it made my mom sad. Right now, I’m still trying to not let myself fall back to my old ways. Maybe it’s not exactly the same as what you’re going through, but at least I understand what it’s like to slip up.” Deuce laughs. “Sometimes I still catch myself going back to old habits.” 

“I see.” 

Epel feels warm. He’s  _ so  _ grateful Deuce is someone he can talk to. 

“Are you feeling better now?” Deuce eyes his dirtied handkerchief. “I probably can’t fix your face, but I can still grab some napkins if you want.” 

“It’s okay. I feel a lot better… ‘specially now that I talked to you.” 

“That’s good. Now…” Deuce stands up from his seat and offers a hand to Epel. “How about we finally get going to that new shop?” 

Epel swats away Deuce’s hand teasingly. 

  
  
  
  


The new shop,  _ The Raven’s Wing _ , sits across from a bookstore that many Night Raven students frequent. Though on the outside, the shop features the standard, classic architecture throughout the Street, but inside rock music plays over the speakers, and fresh, edgy styled mannequins line the shop’s walls. 

Epel never thought he would feel this excited to go shopping for clothes. On days where he had to help Vil try on clothes for a photoshoot, he had only seen piles and piles of elegant wear strewn throughout countless boutiques. 

“I think they have a rack of athletic wear in the back.” Deuce points towards a corner of the shop where rows of jackets were displayed neatly. 

In that moment, Epel didn’t care if there was a spring in his step as he made a dash for the jackets. He holds up a slick, leather jacket with trembling hands, staring at the fabric in awestruck wonder. 

Deuce offers Epel a smile as he picks up a varsity jacket with a colorful dragon embroidered on the back. “I think you’d like this.” 

Epel thinks he could cry for how happy he feels. Boy, oh boy, he would  _ never  _ have gotten a chance to try this on in the presence of Pomefiore students. 

“S-should I try this on?” He takes the jacket. 

“Of course! We’ve got all day, so take your time if you need to.” 

Epel gleefully grabs a few more jackets off their hangers. 

  
  
  


“I think the dragon suits you after all,” Deuce decides. 

“You think so?” 

Epel looks into the mirror, his body now free of that cursed sweater and replaced with the much cooler varsity jacket. A pair of looser form-fitting jeans, but comfortable to his liking, rested against his legs, and a pair of chunky sneakers completes the look. Epel reaches into his hair and frees his locks from the barrettes, then smiles brightly at his reflection. Perfect. 

“You look great!”

He smiles shyly at Deuce’s compliment. “You don’t look so bad yourself, either.” 

Deuce wears a matching jacket with a metallic sheen on the sleeves, only with a tiger embroidered on the back instead of a dragon. He does a spin, admiring himself in the mirror. “If only our athletic uniforms were like this,” Deuce sighs, tugging on the hem of the jacket. “But I suppose it’d be nice to wear these whenever we hang out like this again.” 

“Yeah.” 

Epel finally cracks a genuine smile. 

They ring up their jackets, and Epel holds onto the bag like he holds onto the Magift disk when he’s facing against Ruggie. 

The sun just about sets when they finally make it back to Main Street’s centre, and they talk the same - but without any holding back this time. Epel does take care to control his dialect, only so that Deuce doesn’t get entirely lost in his words. Epel tells Deuce about how a poor Pomefiore student served Vil a smoothie with blueberries instead of strawberries and how the dorm leader gave the entire dorm a lecture about the important property of every single fruit out there. Deuce shares how Riddle tried baking (horribly) again, Ace lost his composure and was given extra croquet duties as punishment. 

Epel didn’t think he’d be laughing this much. He doesn’t recall the last time he had this much fun with someone (minus the crying breakdown from earlier). As he walks side by side with Deuce, part of him wonders how it’d feel like to possibly… hold it. Deuce’s hand had felt warm and comforting when he had cried earlier (He had to give Deuce credit for trying his best). What if he tried reaching out? Worst case scenario, Deuce would just pull back. All he had to do right now as just to reach forward… But after the next streetlight. 

And the next one. 

And the one after that. 

“I can walk you back to your dorm, if you’d like,” Deuce says. 

Epel blinks. 

Oh. They’re at the Mirror Chamber already. 

“It’s okay. I wouldn’t want you getting caught up in whatever mess is over there right now. Besides, I wanted to hide this in my room without letting Vil- _ senpai  _ see it.” 

They shuffle their feet awkwardly, not looking each other in the eye. 

Epel wishes they could stay like this. Maybe not  _ like this _ , but… he wishes he could hang out with Deuce more in the future. Deuce Spade certainly didn’t redeem any of Pomefiore’s gentlemen charm, but Deuce was charming in his own way. Awkward, yes, but it was nice. 

“Thank you for today.” He smiles warmly at Deuce (Is that a blush tinging his cheeks?). “I had a lotta fun.” 

Deuce is also smiling. “I’m glad you think so.” 

This next move, Epel isn’t sure if he would live his life regretting it or cherishing it. But whatever, even if he doesn’t feel like he belongs at Pomefiore, he still thinks he should uphold at least some of the dorm’s ‘elegance’. Maybe. Epel takes a step forward, pulls Deuce down gently by the collar of his T-shirt and presses a light kiss to his cheek. 

“Good night,” Epel says quickly before jumping through the Pomefiore mirror. 

He kind of wishes he could see what kind of expression he left on Deuce’s face. Hopefully not anger or horror. Pleasant surprise would be nice. Oh, well. They’ll see each other in the hallways at school. And extracurriculars. Epel grins to himself as he tucks the shopping bag under the ugly, oversized sweater as he hurries back to his room. 

They’ve got plenty of time, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i might edit this fic along the way if there's suggestions and such, which i'm totally open for! this is my first time finally writing a fic on this site and for twst and i hope you like it!!! more chapters to come in the upcoming days <3


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